ORI GERSHT – FALLING PETALS
2011-05-23In his most recent series comprised of images taken from April to May 2010 in Japan, Gersht traveled between cities that were affected by World War II as well as ancient locations in remote western Japan, examining the shifting symbolism of the cherry blossom. While initially associated with Buddhist concepts of renewal, the celebration of life, and good fortune, the cherry blossom was re-appropriated during Japan’s 19th century militarization and colonial expansion. Once celebrated as a healthy and abundant flower, the falling of the petals from the tree became the symbol of Kamikaze soldiers. Gersht furthers this discussion of life and death symbolism in his exploration of trees planted before the war in unaffected remote areas, contrasting them against trees in Hiroshima that were planted in nuclear soil.
The artist made use of digital cameras that allowed for images to be taken under extreme light conditions, further questioning the ability of photography as a medium to convey a singular truth or story. Presenting documentation of what is assumed to be an exact location, Gersht’s digital process allows for the absolute light and color veracity of these landscapes to be questioned and by extension the viewer’s interpretation of this location’s history. Unlike previous series which focused on geographic journeys (Walter Benjamin following the Lister Route in Gersht’s Evaders (2009) or The Forest (2006), in which the artist’s family found refuge from Nazi persecution during WWII in the Ukraine), Falling Petals offers imagery that conveys past and present without a specified linear narrative; Gersht’s photographic process implies the passage of time without providing an exacting start or finish to the life of the depicted.
Opposite – Against the Tide: Isolated, 2010
Exhibition runs through to June 25th, 2011
CRG Gallery
548 W 22nd Street
New York
NY
10011
